Scots theatre director Eric Potts on why he jumped at chance to work with Warwick Davis and his cast of fellow short actors on new show

THE 6ft tall theatre director and writer said he's loved every minute working with Davis and his Reduced Height Theatre Company as he reveals it's opened his eyes to the prejudice they face on a daily basis.

HIS movies include billion dollar sagas, such as Star Wars and Harry Potter, and he
has enjoyed two smash-hit TV series in recent years.

By almost any definition, Warwick Davis is one of the biggest stars in the country.

Now the three-and-a-half foot tall actor is taking on one of the toughest challenges of his career, launching his own theatre company made up of fellow short actors.

And
for the first production by the Reduced Height Theatre Company, Davis has brought in a larger-than-life Scot to direct the show – former Coronation Street star Eric Potts.

The
6ft tall funnyman, from Irvine, is best known for his role as comedy baker Diggory Compton in Corrie, but he also appeared in soaps Emmerdale
and Brookside, as well as making a guest turn in Still Game.

But
Eric is also one of the busiest theatre directors and writers in the country, scripting and directing plays and pantos from his adopted base near Manchester.

Davis had worked with the 48-year-old on several stage shows, so the Willow leading man drafted him in to bring his first play, the farce See How They Run, to life.

Eric said he has loved every minute of working with the incredibly talented cast and said the experience has really opened his eyes to the prejudice
that little people face on a daily basis.

He
said: “Our audience can expect two hours of laughter, fun and escapism away from the weather and the council tax bill and enjoy a great night of top-quality entertainment, which is great fun, and just happens to be performed by very funny actors all of whom are four foot tall or less.

“I’ve
known Warwick for a good few years, mainly through panto work, and we’d
done a couple of charity things together, so he’d seen me directing pantos.

“When he came up with the idea for the company, he said ‘I’d love you to come and direct this’ and I jumped at the chance.

“It’s such a great idea and the last few weeks have not only been incredibly enjoyable but very educational as well.

“I’ve
had a real insight into their world and their lives and the stuff they have to deal with every day, even just simple things like not being able
to reach door knobs.

“Warwick
set the company up because there are some really great short actors out
there, but the chances are you will only ever see them in Christmas commercials playing elves or in panto next to six others and Snow White.

“Warwick
was determined to do something about that because it is something he has faced himself. He’s obviously been lucky with all the film work he has got, so he set this up for all the great short actors who were not getting the work that their talents merited.

“I think it will surprise a lot of people. It’s great.”

The
show, which kicks off this week in Bromley, Kent, and is touring into the spring, is a classic 1940s farce about the village green antics of red-faced vicars and escaped prisoners.

Davis,
who plays the lead role of the vicar, has been acting for 31 years since he made his debut as Wicket the Ewok in Return of the Jedi for George Lucas.

He went on to
take the lead role in Lucas and Ron Howard’s fantasy drama Willow and then starred in the BBC’s Chronicles of Narnia.

The Reduced Height Theatre Company show opens in Kent

In 1999, he had three separate roles in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and then played Professor
Flitwick in the first two Harry Potter films and then the goblin Griphook in the Deathly Hallows finale.

Other film roles have included Marvin the paranoid android in the film of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.

Davis,
who is married with two kids and runs his own talent agency, shot back to household fame recently after working with Ricky Gervais in the sitcom Life’s Too Short and on series three of An Idiot Abroad.

Eric
said: “Warwick has a great sense of humour. The other day after the terrible weather, he came in soaking wet and said, ‘I’ve shrunk in the rain’.

“But he and the cast
have to put up with a lot. If they are walking up the street to get some lunch they get stared at, and you feel like saying to people to just grow up and get over it.

“And in the pub they can be having a quiet drink and people come up wanting their picture taken, without even
asking if they mind.

“They
cope very well, but some adults can be so rude. Really, why are they trying to have their picture taken with a dwarf, is it some kind of trophy?

“Warwick didn’t want this just to be a curiosity. The show is very funny, but it’s funny
because it’s a good play, well performed by talented actors, not because there’s a lot of short people running around.

“I
was watching rehearsals the other day and was so caught up in the play that when the stage manager stood up next to me he seemed like a blooming giant, so you buy into the height thing really quickly and the set is all designed for the actors.”

He
added: “A lot of the cast have been in Potter films and Star Wars and the rest of it, as well as appearing in Life’s Too Short, but they are all very talented.”

While
Eric is busy making sure the attention is all on the cast, it’s his work in front of the camera that he is best known for, especially his time as cheeky baker Diggory in Corrie nine years ago.

He admitted:
“I had a great time on the Street and would happily go back if asked. I
still get people talking to me about it and asking how Diggory is getting on.

“I also loved my time on Still Game.

“I played a baker who had ripped off Jakey Peter over a beefy bake recipe and had to go to court. It was great fun.

“I’m so pleased to hear about the reunion and I’ll definitely be coming up to see the show at the Hydro.”

Eric’s
busy panto duties include writing the annual show at the King’s Theatre
in Glasgow and he would dearly love to head north with his new pals.

“It would be amazing to bring the Reduced Height Theatre Company to Scotland and I know it would go down very well.

“This
year we only had a 12-week window, and it was all about finding theatres with space, so we couldn’t get Scottish dates for the tour.

“But
I think Warwick is hoping to do a new show every year and I would definitely love to direct again, and I’d love to come north next year.”